The first of a five-part top ten favourite movies of the decade. I’ll be putting one of these up every Thursday lunchtime-ish for the next five weeks. Well, lah-di-dah, get me.
(This list already appeared on Film4.com, so if you just want to know what films I’ve put in the top ten, you can find out over there).
I’ve explained the criteria for my picks in an earlier post entitled ‘What makes a great film?‘ – this is a personal list, and not necessarily what I’d put in a time capsule of great art of the ’00s. So there.
Ghost World
“I think only stupid people have good relationships.”
10. Ghost World
Coming out in 2001, Terry Zwigoff’s acidic adaptation of Daniel Clowes’ graphic novel caught me at the perfect time: like sarky lead Enid (Thora Birch), I was 18 and had recently left school and embraced an ill-advised series of lurid hair-dyes. At the time, these touchstones seemed integral to why I liked the film – it felt like it was made for people like me, in a cinema landscape all but devoid of recognisably real teenage girls. Ghost World is still on my list now because unlike other old favourites, its subtle relevance goes beyond a teenage yearning for identification. Ghost World is about what to do when you don’t like the world you’ve found yourself in. Do you cut yourself off like Seymour (Steve Buscemi), admitting “I can’t relate to 99 per cent of humanity”, and obsessively collect old records? Do you knuckle down, like Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson, before she got blanded) and get a job in a coffee shop? The film’s too realistic to offer answers, and deliciously refuses to take the traditional hipster’s escape route and hide in nostalgia and retro cool. And yet the ending, a Graduate coda for the 21st century, is full of sly possibility.
Factotum
“All I want to do is get my cheque and get drunk.”
9. Factotum
Stumbling from one drink to the next via a series of unskilled jobs from which he is invariably dismissed, the non-adventures of would-be writer Henry Chinaski are a deadpan celebration of squalor, booze and uncompromised artistic integrity, based on a scrapbook amalgam of writer Charles Bukowski’s work. You ought probably run a mile if you meet a pub bore who tells you he likes this film, as it provides a ready-made excuse for failure to every bum with literary pretentions out there, but this does not change the fact that this is a raw autumn dream of a film. Canny casting of the female roles – Lili Taylor, Marisa Tomei, Adrienne Shelly – goes some way to balance Bukowski’s less-than-feminist credentials, but it’s Matt Dillon’s human, hang-dog performance, the best of his career, that gives this latter-day Barfly its sweet kick.
Feeling weighed down by the burden of your soul? Never fear, the future is here; a future in which Paul Giamatti does a John Malkovich, playing actor Paul Giamatti a few years from now, when it is possible to have your soul removed and placed in storage.
Cold Souls
Paul Giamatti has a tragicomic face, and he knows it. Some actors, especially beautiful ones, are fascinated by attempting to escape the look nature (or a gifted surgeon) gave them: think of Brad Pitt in Kalifornia, Charlize Theron in Monster, Christian Bale in The Machinist. Giamatti on the other hand, has a tragicomic face that he knows how to work to his best advantage in all his key roles: Sideways, American Splendor, and now, Cold Souls.In interviews, Giamatti comes across as a charming fellow, but that face of his belongs on a sad-sack character. It is an ideal face for a self-pitying, ineffectual clown, tolerated by those around him, loved by few, and yet still possessed of a few poor rags of dignity. In other words, it’s the ideal face to play Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, one of the least playable heroes in drama. Vanya is almost wholly ridiculous without being especially sympathetic, and it would be a gift of a stage role for Giamatti.
In Cold Souls, Paul Giamatti, playing himself, is rehearsing ‘Uncle Vanya’ for an off-Broadway production, and the choice of play is a masterstroke of a backdrop to the film’s central “soul storage” conceit. The weight of Vanya, a rotten plum of a role, drives Giamatti into the arms of David Strathairn’s soul storage doctor, who works in an entirely believable Apple Mac-type clinic, all white surfaces and friendly curves.
The good doctor suggests the bearded gloomster put his soul on storage for a bit, to ease his pain. He’ll get it back whenever he wants. He could even slip into a different soul for a bit, to help with the Vanya role – perhaps he’d like to try a Russian poet for size?
The concept sounds Kaufman-esque (Charlie, not Gerald), but it’s played a good deal straighter by the actors than most Kaufman (Charlie not Andy), to great understated effect. Cold Souls also recalls Michel Gondry’s The Science Of Sleep, but first-time writer-director Sophie Barthes is less interested in the hand-crafted make-believe and home-knitted textures of Gondry; her world is an entirely realistic one in which the concept of soul storage happens to have come to pass. This world is neither dystopian nightmare nor ideal fantasy – nor yet does it have the grand ‘fatal flaw’ beloved of tragedy.
The flaws of soul storage are the mundane flaws of our own world. A banal security lapse. The human potential for corruption. Bankruptcy and hedge funds. Even petty cost-cutting: Giamatti is dismayed to learn his soul may be kept in an out of town New Jersey storage facility. He is even more dismayed to see what his soul looks like, once extracted: it resembles nothing more than a boiled chickpea.
Cold Souls is a giant exercise in ego deflation, and it is at its funniest when this is at its most acute. When Giamatti’s soul is half-inched by a Russian soul mule (an outrageous concept made to work by a beautifully melancholy performance from the elegant, angular Dina Korzun), it is destined for a Russian gangster’s gorgeous, shallow wife. Yearning for a career as an actress, she demands the soul of a famous American actor, and has been told she will receive the soul of Al Pacino. Giamatti is furious and desperate when he finds out his soul has been stolen, but the vanity he allows to creep into his anger when he later learns that he is considered a poor substitute for Pacino is priceless.
Cold Souls is that rare thing: an original, intelligent film that will also make you laugh out loud, especially if you’re as enthralled by the unusual premise as this reviewer. It is also some of Giamatti’s best work to date – audiences in England can only hope the real life version doesn’t decide to bury himself in New York theatre and the challenges of Chekhov: our cinemas need him.
Verdict
For those who like Charlie Kaufman on paper but occasionally find themselves a little tested by his self-conscious meanderings in practice, the hilarious Cold Souls is a pleasingly tight and subtle execution of an eye-opening concept.
I keep meaning to write about Up, one of my favourite cinema experiences of the year so far (and let’s face it, there’s not a lot of this frankly piss poor year left; hurry up 2010, you sound proper futurey and awesome and I can’t wait to meet you). I was clicking around reading what other people have said about Up, and I found that Simon Hickson has said everything I would want to say about it. On the one hand: bastard psychic plaigiarist. On the other hand: excellent, I don’t need to actually write it all out now. Other people’s blogs, eh – they’re the new labour saving device du lazy person’s jour.
P.S. If the world has so far dealt you such a mediocre hand that you’ve not yet encountered Simon Hickson, I say to you: actually, you almost certainly have whether you know it or not – he’s the Simon from Trev And Simon, what used to do early morning children’s television in our salad days, when we were green in judgment and tossed in a balsamic vinegar dressing of youthful dreams. He’s also on Twitter, innit.
Doubtless this will fill quickly, so get there early to avoid disappointment – free screening of Bruno on Sunday with drinks and goodies to promote DVD release on Monday 9th. I shall definitely be attempting to head down. Press release follows:
FREE BRÜNO SCREENING WITH EXCLUSIVE VIDEO COMMENTARY FROM SACHA BARON COHEN AND LARRY CHARLES
-SEE THE SECRETS BEHIND THE MOST TALKED ABOUT FILM OF 2009-
Brüno is the must-see movie of the year, and now with new, previously unseen exclusive features, there’s even more reason to give your DVD collection a makeover this season.
Universal Pictures (UK) are laying on a special treat to celebrate the release of BrÜno out to own and rent on DVD and Blu-ray DVD from November 9th.
On Sunday 8th November from 19:30pm (doors open at 19:00pm) there will be a free screening of Brüno at the Prince Charles Cinema, Leicester Square in London. But not only this, it will be a special version of the film with exclusive video commentary from Sacha Baron Cohen and the films director Larry Charles.
Entry is free of charge and each audience member will be given 2 free drinks at the bar. If that wasn’t enough there will be some Bruno goodies being given away to lucky audience members on the night.
Sacha Baron Cohen and Director Larry Charles share their best-kept filming secrets in a video commentary, showing for the first time ever, how the duo pulled off some of the most flamboyant, most headline grabbing stunts of the year. Not only will you ache with laughter as you watch Brüno getting down and dirty with the ghost of Milli Vanilli or being on the wrong side of a beating from a whip wielding porn star, but also get exclusive behind the scenes knowledge on their gutsy film making antics.
Brüno (Baron Cohen) is an Austrian fashionista and late-night TV host on a jaw dropping journey across the globe in his bid to become the biggest Austrian celebrity since Hitler! From stealing African ‘gay-by’s’ to trying to resolve international conflict by gently stroking heads of state, Sacha Baron Cohen’s larger than life creation will stop at nothing in his quest to find fame.
One of the more inventive PR stunts to come my way lately – to celebrate the release of Bruno, various stores are offering a free waxing service to gentlemen. Press release follows:
GET YOUR ARSCHENHÄLLER IN SHAPE MIT BRÜNO!
-UK MEN OFFERED FREE SACK AND CRACK TO CELEBRATE LAUNCH OF BRÜNO DVD ON 9TH NOVEMBER 2009
He's had his done.
Brüno is the must-see movie of the year, and now with new, previously unseen exclusive features, there’s even more reason to give your DVD collection a makeover this season. But…that isn’t the only thing we can help you makeover.
Universal Pictures are laying on a special treat to celebrate the release of BrÜno out to own and rent on DVD and Blu-ray DVD from November 9th. On Monday 9th November men in London, Glasgow and Manchester will be able to spruce up their under carriage with a complimentary ‘Brüno’. If you visit participating stores and request a ‘Brüno’ you will receive a free sack and crack wax for one day only. ‘Brünos’ are on a first come, first served basis so make sure you crack on and get there nice and early to avoid disappointment.
Bruno says, “Getting ze perfect body involves removing EVERY LAST HAIR from your body. Vaxing is ze best way to do zis. Vhen you do have a ‘back, crack un kugelsack’ treatment, I recommend zat you get it done professionally. You can do it yourself, but ze last time ich tried, ich glued mein arschenhalle to ze bed. Good luck building ze perfect body guys – und send me some photos…especially if your first name is Jamie und your last name ist Foxx!”
About the film… Brüno (Baron Cohen) is an Austrian fashionista and late-night TV host on a jaw dropping journey across the globe in his bid to become the biggest Austrian celebrity since Hitler! From stealing African ‘gay-by’s’ to trying to resolve international conflict by gently stroking heads of state, Sacha Baron Cohen’s larger than life creation will stop at nothing in his quest to find fame.
Participating stores:
The Sugar Shop
142 Commercial Street
London
E1 6BJ
The Sugar Shop
35 Southwick Street
London
W2 1JQ
Brazilian Waxing Company
University Precinct
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9RN
What makes a great film? I’ve recently been working on a Top Ten Films Of The Decade feature over on channel4.com/film, where for once, we decided to dispense with the impersonal editorial ‘we’ and dare to utter the dreaded ‘I’. Each critic would come up with their own top ten of films made since 2000, and explain specifically what they liked about them, abandoning all pretence of objectivity. Since my list of ten would be so clearly personal, I figured I’d pick films not according to whether I necessarily thought they were the kind of Great Films that one would encase in an ark displaying humanity’s timeless achievements, but according to… what, exactly? I gave it some thought and narrowed it down to the following criteria:
1. Be re-watchable.
I love to re-watch a film, even films I wasn’t keen on. Picking over what you might have missed, and what strikes you differently a second, third, fourth time through is a huge source of enjoyment. Most of the films I really love can be watched over and over. Withnail & I, The Wizard Of Oz, Alien – all of them get greater with repeat viewing. Many of the films that made it into my top ten from this decade also fulfil this be kind, rewind directive.
2. Evoke a response.
There are films out there which I can see are brilliant. Brilliantly made, technically accomplished, fine performances, nuanced script, crucial social issue. There’s something else, something capricious that elevates the best films, and it’s where a film elicits an emotional response, be that laughter (and I am especially keen on comedies), tears, embarrassment, whatever: it needs to get under my skin.
3. Have a brain.
… and a corollary to criterion number two is this: it is not enough to simply evoke an emotional response; it should be legitimate and not manipulative. Catch me on a bad day and I might feel moved by Transformers, but that emotion won’t have the staying power of something meatier, and the film wouldn’t make the list on tear-power or laughs alone.
4. Be ambitious.
This doesn’t apply to everything in my top ten in the same way, but there should be something in there that’s a stretch, whether it’s creating a whole world in Lord Of The Rings, wringing something fresh out of an old, old story in Untold Scandal, or finding poetry in the tale of a vaguely obnoxious drunk in Factotum.
5. Don’t hump Oscar’s leg.
I cannot f—ing BEAR those bloody films where everyone involved seems to be chasing an Oscar. Many of the films in my list did in fact win Oscars, but you never imagine from watching – say – Pan’s Labyrinth that shiny gold statues crossed Guillermo del Toro’s mind for a moment when making the film. They were focussed on telling the best story they could tell. Yes, awards are a lovely thing, but watching an actor straining out an Academy Award bid like a particularly worthy trip to the bathroom is one of cinema’s least edifying experiences and one that often turns me right off what could otherwise have been a decent film.
Finally, for those who are interested, here are links to my colleagues’ lists (note – their inclusion criteria likely differ from mine in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways, so please don’t bring my humble waffle to bear on these fine articles):
Jennifer’s Body has been taking a pounding from critics. Poor Jennifer. Maybe I’m a lone voice in the wilderness on this one, but I really enjoyed it. Diablo Cody’s latest is one of those smart but trashy future cult hit films. It’s not an Oscar winning biopic (thank god). It’s not jam-packed with explosions and state of the art CGI (thank god). Nor yet is it yet another identikit Sundance indie flick commissioned by execs hungry for a piece of the Little Miss Sunshine pie (god again working overtime here, cheers). It’s a lot of fun, if cheesy in places. Review below the trailer.
This review first appeared on channel4.com/film.
Jennifer (Megan Fox) is evil. Not just high-school evil, but evil-evil. Can her BFF stop her before she chows down on half the school’s population?
As the poster proclaims: hell yes. For fans of Heathers, Mean Girls and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, here’s a tasty morsel of a high school comedy horror that puts girls in the driving seat and boys on the menu. If this doesn’t appeal to you as a concept, stop reading now. There are dozens of reviews of Jennifer’s Body already out there that have failed to see the delicious appeal of such a film. Go read them, and revel in the Diablo Cody backlash (a backlash against a funny, successful woman? Surely not…). Alternatively, if you’re of the opinion than Megan Fox as demonic man-eater and the ever-awesome Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls, Veronica Mars, Chloe) nerding up as The One Person In This Crazy Town Who Knows The Truth, plus Adam Brody (The OC) as a complete penis of an emo band frontman, sounds completely fabulous, read on.
It can surely only be the genre that has American critics twice the age of the film’s protagonists wearily dismissing Cody’s “slanguage-laden”, “glib teen-hip dialogue” as “self-conscious splatter over a sorely lacklustre scare flick” where they loftily praised Juno as having “introduced a writer with a fresh point of view about young people in today’s world.” You see, Miss Cody, it’s okay to mash language into grammarian-baiting new slang in the context of a wiseass Sundance smash teen pregnancy indie flick, but if you do it in a comedy horror, you’re just running after the self-referential horror bandwagon long after it’s been carted off to the junkyard and melted down for parts.
To borrow a Diablo Cody phrase, this is “freaktarded” – the considerably less twee Jennifer’s Body has easily as many angles on teen living as Juno, and it is pure genre-prejudice to believe that a film featuring demonic rites, sacrifice and supernatural terror is inherently inferior to a more “real” treatment of adolescence. So, what’s the appeal of Jennifer’s Body?
Jennifer’s Body joins a very small number of horror movies where hero and villain are both female and both proper, believable characters. We’ve all met Jennifer: the girl who zeroes in on her selected male target, blasts him into submission and devours his soul. In Jennifer’s case this is literally so, and it’s a lot of fun to watch Fox, beautifully sending up her own ‘FHM’ image, cannibalise a gamut of high school stereotypes: nervous Asian guy, football jock, and the fey emo kid – in Jennifer’s words, “He’s into maggot rock. He wears nail polish. My dick is bigger than his.”
Probably because the studio was after a 15 certificate, we don’t actually see too much blood, this being more high-school comedy than gorefest, but the inventive descriptions make up for it: apparently one of Jennifer’s victims looked like “lasagne with teeth” when he was found. The most monstrous thing in the film is in fact Adam Brody’s indie frontman, leader of dire band Low Shoulder who are to blame for Jennifer’s demonic state. Intent on sacrificing a virgin, they make just one crucial error – she’s no virgin, which has unfortunate occult consequences. Why would an MOR emo act want to sacrifice a virgin, traditionally the province of death metal? Why, to further their careers of course – as Brody puts it to a reluctant bandmate: “Do you want to be rich and awesome, like that guy from Maroon 5?” Killing virgins in order to emulate Maroon 5 surely ranks higher in the catalogue of evil than practically any other act.
None of this, fun as it is, would be worth much without such a winning heroine, but Amanda Seyfried is simply yummy as Anita “Needy” Lesnicki, the put-upon geek and unlikely best friend to Jennifer’s cheerleader queen. The relationship is not an equal one. Although Needy tries to convince herself that “sandbox love never dies”, these days she’s more likely to find herself on the end of a stream of invective from her BFF: “Please don’t talk to yourself; it’s one of your more freakish needy behaviours and it makes us both look like total gaylords.” And that’s pre-demon Jennifer talking.
Jennifer’s Body has more to say about the dynamics of teenaged female friendship, sexual power games and the trials of adolescence than many a more self-consciously worthy film, but even without this uplifting backbone it would still be an above averagely entertaining night at the cinema. Unleash your inner teen queen bitch and enjoy a dose of pure fun: the cult following starts here.
Verdict:
At last, a film for girls (and right-minded boys) that cuts out Bridget Jones-style whinging about wobbly thighs, dispenses with obsessive Jane Austen husband-seeking and completely ignores the naff materialism of ‘Sex And The City’ in favour of a funny fable about high-school friendship and sexual awakening.
I wrote this for the Film4 Facebook group, but it’s definitely full of good ideas, so I’m posting it here too.
Halloween, then. Here’s my recommended plan for the day:
Suspiria
11am: Watch the original version of The Fly on Film4 1pm: Lunchtime: eat pumpkin soup and maybe have a read of 50 Horror Movies To See Before You Die. 3pm: Catch a matinee cinema screening of the year’s best comedy, Zombieland. 6pm: Dinner. Feast on the blood of innocents. If blood of innocents causes indigestion, trick or treat the local chemists for Pepto Bismol. 8pm: Head on over to the I Spit On Your Rave Halloween Zombie Party. 10pm – 12.45am: Dead Set is on E4 – stumble home from zombie mayhem to watch, um, zombie mayhem. 12.50pm: Flip over to Film4 for Suspiria, a truly terrifying horror experience. Don’t say I didn’t warn you… sleep tight.
Further to my musings on Michael Jackson’s Movie legacy, This Is It premieres tomorrow night (Tuesday 27th October) in Leicester Square and is open to the general public. The live celebrations feature stellar celebrities of the calibre of Duncan from Blue. Hmm. Anyway, if you do pop along, let me know how it goes. I’m passing up on the chance to see Duncan and friends in favour of the launch of Hammer Horror coffee table book Hammer Glamour, previously mentioned on here.
Press release begins:
Michael Jackson: Is This It?
MICHAEL JACKSON’S THIS IS IT
SPECTACULAR GLOBAL PREMIERE EVENT
COME AND JOIN THE UK CELEBRATION
IN LONDON’S LEICESTER SQUARE!
On Tuesday 27th October, London’s Leicester Square will play host to a truly one-off global event to celebrate the opening of MICHAEL JACKSON’S THIS IS IT. The London Premiere will be part of movie history as the movie has premieres simultaneously in over 15 cities worldwide, including Los Angeles, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin, Johannesburg, and Seoul.
A glittering array of stars will walk up the red carpet including: JLS, Leona Lewis, Estelle, Diversity, Chipmunk, Abbey Clancy, Peter Andre, Annie Lennox, Will Young, Brian Friedman, Keisha Buchanan, Mel B, Lemar, Gary Lineker, Danielle Bux, The Hoosiers, Twiggy, George Sampson and Shayne Ward.
Everyone is welcome to come and join the celebration and take part in what is set to be a spectacular showbiz event!
9.30pm – the celebration starts in Leicester Square with DJ Spoony entertaining the crowds with music and Michael Jackson’s greatest videos playing out on giant screens
11.00pm – Duncan James (from boyband Blue) the event host goes on stage in Leicester Square Gardens to officially kick off the event and welcome the crowds
11.15pm – Dance troupe Diversity perform a tribute to Michael Jackson on the stage in Leicester Square Gardens
11.30pm – 12.30am – celebrity guests arrive and walk the red carpet. Live footage from the Los Angeles Premiere will be broadcast live via satellite to the giant screens in Leicester Square
1.00am – London premiere screening starts in the Odeon Leicester Square and red carpet closes
4.00am – First public screening of the movie starts at the Odeon Leicester Square. This screening is completely open to the general public who can purchase cinema tickets in Leicester Square on the night (or in advance via Odeon website / phoneline) and be among the first people in the world to see the movie
RED CARPET INFORMATION
Special wristbands are available for fans wishing to stand and watch the red carpet and stage events in Leicester Square Gardens. There will be a limited number of wristbands available on a first-come-first-served basis
Wristbands can be collected from M&A SECURITY STAFF in Leicester Square Gardens from 12.00PM on Tuesday 27th October. Fans arriving ahead of this time will be asked to form a queue for wristband collection.
Once a wristband has been collected, the holder can then leave Leicester Square Gardens and be readmitted at any time up until 10pm. We ask that all fans ensure they have enough comfort / refreshment breaks throughout the day.
Wristbands are NOT required for the red carpet area outside of the Odeon Leicester Square cinema
ARRIVING AT THE EVENT
Leicester Square is well serviced by public transport – Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly / Bakerloo) and Leicester Square (Northern / Piccadilly) are the closest tube stations. The area is also served by many bus routes.
Please leave plenty of time for your journey as the area is likely to be congested
DEPARTING FROM THE EVENT
TUBE – the last Piccadilly / Bakerloo / Northern Line trains leave Piccadilly Circus / Leicester Square at approx 00:30. Trains start running again from these stations at approx 05:45
NIGHT BUS – the area is very well served by night buses that depart to all areas of London and the suburbs throughout the night. Please check on www.thetube.com for more information
TAXI / MINICAB – the area is very well served by licensed ‘black’ taxis and licensed minicabs.
CABWISE – Text HOME to 60835* to get the numbers of one taxi and two licensed minicab firms, in the area you are texting from
Summary: Colin is a zombie. Join him as he shuffles through London, encountering fellow zombies and small bands of survivors, in Marc Price’s shoestring debut.
Grrr. Argh.
Where Andrew Parkinson’s 1998 film I, Zombie: The Chronicles Of Pain dissected a man’s descent into the putrefaction of zombiehood, Marc Price’s Colin documents an Everyman’s day to day zombiefied existence once he’s joined the ranks of the shuffling deceased, ten minutes in. This is, it need hardly be said, a great premise even in a sub-genre infested with every variation on this moth-eaten theme conceivable. You can find zombie babies, Nazi zombies, zombie clowns, lesbian zombies, zombie presidents and a zombie Jesus out there in the zombieland that is the horror section of any well-stocked DVD store, so zombie hats zombily doffed to Price for this fresh zombie concept.
An original concept is nevertheless harder to market than a nice grabby fact or figure, so what you’ll probably already know about Colin is that it was made for the dead reasonable sum of £45, making other famously low-budget flicks like The Blair Witch Project ($60,000) or Clerks ($27,000) look positively Titanic. One of FrightFest 2009’s big talking points, the shock for Colin’s cast and crew was that their camcorder movie found a distributor and would be lurching into cinemas that October, with the film’s director confessing “I really thought it was a joke when I was told.”
His disbelief isn’t exactly misplaced; Colin is a world away from the high production values of most multiplex fare and will most likely have those unfamiliar with low budget filmmaking scratching their heads at the lack of polish. For filmmakers despairing over a lack of funding, it ought to act as a red rag – given the budget available, this is impressive stuff and proves that while resources are not to be sniffed at, it is possible to tell a simple story well without undue expense.
But is it worth a look for non-filmmakers? In all honesty, there’s no reason to see it on the cinema screen, and indeed it would be possible in some cinemas to pay more for four tickets and some popcorn than the film cost to make. The production values don’t benefit from being writ large on a commercial cinema screen but Colin’s makers hardly had that in mind while they scrambled round deserted bits of London and Swansea with their dedicated amateur cast. This is a film that belongs to the noble heritage of beery DVD nights with a takeaway and themed movie double bill.
None of which is to say this is a braindead film. Rather, it is a small film, in which the characterisation is oddly the key. In Colin himself, we’ve got ourselves a very watchable walking, groaning, living corpse. It’s a great thing in an actor to make the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are brains, ultraviolence and probably not Beethoven interesting – especially when his verbal utterances are largely confined to the odd “grrrr aarrghhh” – but Alastair Kirton makes a surprisingly credible go of it. His Colin is the natural successor to Day Of The Dead’s Bub, the first zombie we ever came to care for.
Colin, at its unbeating heart, is about vestigial humanity. This is a film whose final act could, if it wanted, slip in a variation on the famous shopping mall exchange -”Why do they come here?” “Some kind of instinct. Memory, of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives,” – from Dawn Of The Dead as a requiem, rather than misanthropic satire. Unlike most decent zombie films, where you go away relishing the gore, the panache, the scale of the apocalypse, the bleakly awesome inhumanity of it all, Colin is more likely to leave you with a lingering sense of melancholy.
Something else you’ll take away from Colin is that if you never see another movie use shaky camera techniques until you yourself rank amongst the hordes of the living impaired, it will be too soon. But as they say, no (undead) body’s perfect.
Verdict:
If they’d only had £45 to spend on Shaun Of The Dead and Shaun had got turned into a zombie in the first ten minutes, the result might have been something along the lines of this low-fi but likeable bildungszombie bargain basement curio.
